Posted by Aymenn Al-Tamimi on Friday, May 6th, 2016

By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

Emblem of Liwa al-Jalil, which features in the centre the name of the militia’s political wing: “National Resistance Action Movement.”

In the branding of pro-Assad Palestinian militias, it is hardly surprising that there should be references to locations within the land of Palestine. Liwa al-Quds (The Jerusalem Brigade), a Palestinian militia operating in Aleppo, is one example of this phenomenon. Another example is the Quwat al-Jalil (The Galilee Forces), previously profiled at this site. The Galilee reference is of particular importance on account of its proximity to Syria and border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The more recent emergence of Liwa al-Jalil (The Galilee Brigade), which claims to be distinct from Quwat al-Jalil and traces its founding to 29 May 2015, fits into this trend.

Typical of the discourse of pro-Assad Palestinian militias, Liwa al-Jalil, which explicitly describes itself as a “secular, leftist movement,” focuses on the language of muqawama (resistance), Arab nationalism, the primacy of the Palestinian cause and the crucial role of Syria in the resistance axis. Thus, from the group’s official page explaining its formation:

“In view of the circumstances that our Arab Ummah in general and our Palestinian cause in particular are going through, and the danger that is threatening every country of resistance in this region, a fabric of our Palestinian and Syrian youth decided to form an entity of resistance that will be supporting those countries in the face of tyranny and hegemony that have not ceased since the occupation of Palestine until now. And the ideology of this entity depends on being the movement in the vanguard of the youth of resistance that wages war for the sake of liberation and independence whatever the circumstances and capabilities. And indeed our success in supporting this cause in Palestine or the countries of resistance that support Palestine is success in breaking the collar of servitude for every human being just as this fabric of the youth of resistance has strived and strives for.

The movement arises on the basis of considering the Palestinian cause as the base cause since it is the first cause of humanity in its struggle with occupation and hegemony for the sake of liberation, therefore from a foundation of humanity and nationalism we take up our role in this conflict ideologically, politically and militarily to realize victory.

The National Resistance Action Movement has been established in the midst of this ongoing conflict between the ideology of the resistance and the other side whose existence depends on waging war against this ideology. We will strive to rout and exterminate it under any cover because the liberation of peoples cannot come with the destruction of their lands and erasure of their identity of resistance. Therefore in our political plan we are intent on uniting ranks among all the Palestinian factions that support the ideology of resistance in word and deed, as well as preserving our Palestinian cause as the central cause, and that our sacrifices should be in the path of liberating the entirety of the Palestinian national soil through relying on the principle of resistance, not bartering with the enemy and its retinue.

Our work on the land of the Syrian Arab Republic is to support the resistance axis and to keep safe at a distance the Palestinian camps that are present in the diaspora and are the most important components of the steadfastness of our Palestinian people and a focal point to support the victory of the cause: thus they should not be transformed and made a part of the internal conflicts for these lands to be rendered into an environment nursing ideas, deeds and plans against the countries that have supported and continue to support Palestine and the liberation of the Palestinian man. And they should not be transformed into a thorn in the side for these countries, for the deeds that are brought to bear on the name of the people of resistance not only aim to destroy the components of its steadfastness but also for deeds of greater ugliness and defaming this cause and the supporters of this cause, because the Zionist hands and their illegitimate entity are clear in these deeds, including the revival of the Antoine Lahad project in the southern region of the Syrian Arab Republic, whose plans and conspiracies we will undertake to thwart side by side with the Syrian Arab Army, and we will cut the hands of this entity from the source. Indeed our conflict is an existential conflict with Zionist thought, global hegemony and oppression of peoples.”

Note that the ‘Antoine Lahad project’ reference concerns the South Lebanon Army militia that worked with Israel during its occupation of parts of Lebanon. Liwa al-Jalil is thus portraying the rebel forces particularly in the south of Syria as allies and proxies of Israel.

Similar sentiments to the aforementioned post are expressed in the charter issued by Liwa al-Jalil: e.g. article (1) affirms that “Palestine is a part of the Arab homeland and the Palestinian people is a part of the Arab Ummah. And its struggle is their struggle.” In a similar vein, article (3): “Revolutionary resistance is the only means to liberate Palestine: all of Palestine.” Likewise, article (9): “The liberation of Palestine is all of Palestine and destroying the Zionist entity in all its pillars.” As far as organization structure goes, the charter claims a leadership structure operating on democratic principles: “Democracy is the means used to discuss and adopt decisions in the council of the secretariat of the movement.” The overall leader of the group goes by the name of Abu Jihad, while the security official is one Ahmad al-Masri (see here).

On 13 December 2015, Liwa al-Jalil declared a ‘martyr’ in one Muhammad Suleiman Harura, who was claimed to have been killed fighting in the Zabadani area. This ‘martyr’ is of particular interest as he had his own Facebook account, in which he had a number of public posts. Some of the posts interestingly suggest an affinity with Shi’i Islam and Hezbollah. His posts also suggest he was particularly young, unlikely to have been much older than a teenager at the time of his death.

[Muhammad] Suleiman Harura posing with a Hezbollah flag including the slogan “Labbayk ya Zainab!” (“At your service, oh Zainab”), a common Shi’i jihadi slogan in reference to fighting in Syria.

Notice the “Labbayk ya Zainab!” armpatch. His post reads: “God deliver Syria and the people of Syria, we offer our souls in sacrifice for Syria and the great people of Syria, and I swear by God Almighty that I will not abandon mother Syria: My regards to his excellency the President Bashar Hafez al-Assad.”

A post by Suleiman Harura featuring the Shi’i slogan “Ya Hussein!”

“If you are the dhabiha, we have come as the shabiha, members of Kata’ib al-Ghadab (Liwa al-Jalil).”

On the whole, Liwa al-Jalil is a very minor militia actor. Ideologically, the creation of multiple pro-Assad Palestinian militias, however insignificant they may be as military players, is useful for the regime narrative of being the upholder of the Palestinian cause and Arab nationalism (cf. the Arab Nationalist Guard, another pro-Assad militia) and the wider ‘resistance’ bloc narrative of opposition to imperialism and colonialism. The existence of these groups may serve to give an inflated impression of Palestinian support within Syria for the regime.

The armed opposition breaks the cease fire and practice jihad alongside Nusra then complain about terrorism and breaching the cease fire !!
The same people who advocated for foreign intervention in Syria have praised foreign jihadists and invited Erdogan to occupy Syria. Nusra is now the main fighting force among rebels.
They want a unified Syria but declared millions of Syrians as traitors and non Syrian.
They raise the flag of democracy but they do not want any opposition.
You can not make chicken soup out of chicken poop.

Except we now have terrible, terrifying confirmation that this is not reality.

Even outside assistance of weapons for civilian fighters that you recommend is not the answer.

Not when an army, security services, tanks and aircraft owned by the state are turned full-force on civilians.

And violent dictators are always going to get support from other dictators who are afraid of rebellions in their own countries.

They need to be bashed hard by an equal-strength government force who are on the other side. But a force which does not dismantle the civilian government structure and put local unpopular and untrustworthy people in power (like the Americans stupidly did in Iraq).

WWI and most of WWII are sometimes described as gigantic civil wars within Europe. Only American intervention ended the killing of millions and destruction of whole countries.

(And if you read history you discover that intervention was originally unpopular in America or Europe when it was being decided).

I repeat my comment from before, any and all support for rebuilding and recovery in Syria is going to come from the west. We have to look at the good side of their involvement – especially when Russia and Iran have smashed up the country and walked away.

Shame on you Palestinians -Syrian ! We treated you like brothers and sisters. You simply do not deserve. If the revolution prevails , those Palestinians should be deported to West Bank or Gaza and let them “resist” there. They probably would function as traitors.

I truly wonder what Yasser Arafat would have said about the Syrian Revolution ! Would he share Amir’s opinion?

Young Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi’s glorification and earnest obsession with the trivia of various militias is no different from doing the same with local youth or biker gangs in LA, Glasgow, Stockholm or anywhere.

And no more meaningful.

Young guys have always joined these groups for the same reasons.

And in wartime with no future or options for employment, social involvement, status or daily purpose I believe it’s likely many of us would do the same.

Young Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi with all his micro-analysis and inflation of different militia seems to be doing just that vicariously.

Someone please pass me a sick bag when I see the Russian orchestra playing in the bloodstained surrounds of Palmyra theatre.

That’s after Assad and Russia did a deal for the withdrawal of ISIS (proof documents now leaked) from an already-emptied Palmyra. Then Russia went on to smash the town completely with pointless airstrikes. Then Hezbollah moved in and did open industrial-scale looting of homes then set fire to what was left.

The people of Palmyra now have NOTHING to go home to and most remain trapped in Raqqa or stuck on the Jordanian border.

“…Now you will never hear from me that Syrians should unite behind their butcher to fight Isis. Isis can only be defeated by Sunnis only after the fall of Assad”.

I understand your point and respect it. We, of course, differ on this.
In my eyes (you don’t have to agree) all present insurgency right now in Syria are IS. Because all militias want Syria to become a Sunni Islamic State. Sane Syrians should fight them all. This is what I would do if I was a Syrian. This is what I would have done if Israel faced a reality such as the Syrian.

My point is that if the Islamists (not necessarily IS) take control, you can say good bye to a democratic Syria. With Assad, there’s still a chance it will happen one day.
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Also, the reality in Syria makes me think a lot: what if the same has happened in Israel; what would I do; what side would I join.

I would definitely join the side that has the power to end the bloodshed and the misery of my people. Even if this meant joining the devil himself.

If the cost of freedom was destroying my country, the death of hundreds of thousands, half the population – refugees, then freedom is less important.

The sad thing is that even if all this ends, I see no freedom emerging in Syria. Better the butcher I know than worse butchers that I don’t know.

What is left of the non Nusra and non isis rebel force has to choose between reaching a compromise with assad regime or joining Nusra. Many are joining the terrorist group. Most of those who are fighting the Syrian army now are terrorists whether we like it or not. The lies spreaded by GCC medis and thawrajiyyeh outlets by calling terrorists “Thuwwar” are not fooling enough people, almost all of the military gains made by the anti assad forces since 2013 have been the work of Nusra and isis.
WSJ:
Syrian Rebels Torn Between Giving Up, Joining Islamic Extremists
Cornered and weakened, they can accept a settlement with the Assad regime or fight alongside al Qaeda’s Islamist allies
By Sam Dagher

The antialawism that plagues many today is self defeating because it makes the target more unified and will eventually create more enemies as outsiders realize that hate may start with one short list then that list gets bigger everyday and becomes a symbol of a fascist movement.
Campaigns that tried to demonize a whole ethnic, religious or racial group almost always end up producing the opposite results. Antialawism is used to recruit angry sunnis but what most people want is better life not new enemies. Look at antisemitism and tell me what Jew haters have achieved since the 1930s.

The Lira is down , one dollar equal 625 lira, and is expected to get worse soon , in Syria they say the dollar is flying
I call Ehsani to write something about the causes of Syrian Lira collapse, but I believe that excessive Lira printing, the cost of war , the drop in tourism , drop in agriculture and oil production, the exodus of million of refugees to Europe, the corruption of the Alawi regime
Probably the most important factor for the recent drop is the International Monetary Fund in Paris announced that the reserve of foreign fund in Syria has dropped to less than a billion, even it was denied by Adeep. Mayyaleh, but the ability of the regime to import food and other necessary items is now limited sharply, the average salary for a family in Syria is less than 60 dollar a month

/Alawi Assad family have been the biggest Jew haters in Syria/
Many feel hatred towards the Israelis and the State of Israel because of the policy pursued by Tel Aviv.
However, the main enemy of Israel is its own government. Do you remember the American journalist Seymour Hersh still in 2011 warned that the United States will try to destroy Iran and Syria, using for this purpose, Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia?
Can Israel survive on their own without the $ 3 billion allocated by the United States to Israel for military purposes?
Israeli government has chosen to receive subsidies and be perfectly manageable.
Incitement Israeli-Palestinian conflict is playing into the hands of the Israeli politicians who assiduously cultivated the idea that Israel is surrounded by enemies !!!

Nobody wants to talk about , or knows, the actual support Nusra has in Syria among Syrian citizens despite the fact that such support is a crucial factor in understanding the success of the terrorist group and the effect of that support on efforts to end the war in Syria.
The truth is that Nusra is supported or accepted by most people on the opposition side especially after the FSA lost the bulk of its fighters and influence, Nusra is also accepted or supported by a number of foreign governments especially Turkey, Qatar and KSA who are trying to convince Nusra to sever its relations with alqaeda, the mother organization. Opposition and GCC media often hide the fact that Nusra is behind most attacks on government and pro government troops by calling the attackers thuwwar (revolutionaries) or opposition fighters.
Most thawrajiyyeh people refuse to denounce Nusra because they like the fact that Nusra is effective in killing regime troops and Shia fighters, to those thawrajiyyeh anything, even Nusra, is better than the current regime. In a nutshell, the main fighting forces on the opposition side are Nusra and isis, both are terrorist groups. Thawrajiyyeh people know that very well which is why they keep saying that isis and the regime are one but they yet to come up with a theme to calm the nerves of those who are worried about Nusra.
يا أمة ضحكت من جهلها الامم

Every time the Syrian Arab Army beats the jihadists, new combatants arrive in Syria in their thousands. We are therefore forced to admit that this war is being cultivated from the exterior, and that it will last as long as soldiers are sent to die. So we must understand the exterior reasons which continue to maintain it. Then, and only then, can we elaborate a strategy which will spare lives. http://www.voltairenet.org/article191712.html

Thank you for the cut and paste by the “French intellectual” and 9-11 denier, Thierry Meyssan. I’m guessing Mr. Meyssan attributed the adjective “intellectual” all by himself. Just like the great self-appointed president, Bashar Assad.

Didn’t know “guided missiles” contained aircraft and human body parts. But, hey, what do I know? I’m not an “intellectual”.

As long as the heat is not directly reaching those who keep the flames of war raging we will not see an end to the Syrian war in the near future. It is in the interest of many regimes in the region including Israel and the GCC to keep things as is, a winner in this war is not preferred, what is best for many players is to keep the war going and force Iran and Russia to lose money, personnel and political capital.
Syrian expats in particular are among the worst examples of people who are willing to starve Syrians and see the $ hit a 1,000 Lira mark to feed their hatred towards Assad and the Shia-alawites, however haters may be able to cause a lot of damage but they rarely win, what people opposed to Assad should do is build bridges and form coalitions instead of pushing a fascist vision for the new Syria.

16. Asghar Palace
/muslims killing muslims? ISIS just killed another 50 muslims today/
“Zio-fascistic Muslims” creature of David Petraeus killing everything human without discrimination. Overall fascist radical Islam is the epitome of a harmonious labor between the United States and its allies Israel and Saudi Arabia
/ KSA, Iran, Assad, Hezbollah, Hamas, ISIS or al-Queda /
KSA, ISIS, Al-Qaeda is your Zionist allies. Hamas made according with Israeli necessity to divide Palestinians to conquer over them.
Iran, Assad, Hezbollah, are a historical necessity, imposed by the behavior of the occupying state Israel
/The question is, can the US do better w/o Israeli intelligence, technology and missile defense?/ – wawoo! Do you returned again contradict yourself? Do you consider yourself an American or an Israeli?